Tips for a Successful Fantasy Football Year

English: own work, GFDL license (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is that time of year again when die-hard football fans start studying lists of available players and start preparing for their fantasy football draft. As someone who has finished at or near the top of most leagues he has competed in, I thought I might share my process in preparation for my fantasy football draft, with the hope that anyone who reads this may enjoy the same success.

Tip 1: Leave Your Allegiance at the Door

I can’t tell you how many times I have been involved in a fantasy football draft that sooner or later you can figure the favorite team of a few of the guys as they just start drafting that roster.   Like most leagues, the current league I am in changes one or two guys every year and nothing is funnier than watching someone who is new to a league start just drafting players from one team over and over again. The best is after selecting Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Earl Bennett and Devin Hester they say I like theBears.  No kidding. I would have never guessed.  Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with drafting one or two guys from your favorite team.  You are most familiar with their strengths and weaknesses.  But for my blood it is way too risky to load up on one team.         

Tip 2: Have a Plan

There is nothing worse to watch than someone go through the draft process with apparently no real plan on what they are doing or how fantasy football works. Most leagues set up the first round order in advance and often simply reverse it for each round thereafter so you can get a good idea of what group of players you can pick from in the first couple rounds.   An example,  if you get a premiere quarterback such as Brees, Brady or Rodgers, don’t bother to take another quarterback until all other starting spots have been filled. A classic error is the guy that drafts Tom Brady follows it up with Eli Manning two rounds later and then sees him start Scott Chandler at tight end because they passed on Jimmy Graham or Jason Witten to land Manning.   If you get a top tier QB you don’t need to worry about a back-up until much later or at least until you fill in your other starting positions.

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